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Digital Archive Repository

Digitizing our local history collection.

We continue work to digitize the materials in our local history collection. Many of the photographs we have digitized so far are available in Digital Grinnell, searchable by keyword. Here, you can browse some of the documents and other non-image items in our collection. Document types include PDFs, YouTube videos, and links to materials on websites like archive.org. Topics range from Billy Robinson to the 1882 cyclone to a children’s book by Grinnellian Cornelia Shepard Clarke.

This does not represent the entirety of our collection, only a sampling of the higher interest items we have digitized to this point.

Below, you can browse these materials by six categories–architecture, cyclone, general history, just for fun, library, and people. Each category will take you further below to its materials. At the end of each category’s archives, there is a button that will direct you back up to the six topics. Or, you can scroll through all the categories without using these buttons.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Try our Property Research page, our Oral Histories page, our Obituary Database, our Poweshiek History Preservation Project page, or Dan Kaiser’s blog Grinnell Stories.

Architecture

YouTube Video

Bridge Restoration: Featuring McIntyre Bowstring and Piano Bridge in Poweshiek County (2012)

“Historic Truss Bridge Restoration: North Skunk River Greenbelt Association,” video shared with permission from Workin’ Bridges and the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association, 46 minutes

YouTube Video

Glove Factory Building History (2013)

“Old Glove Factory Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 1 minute

For more on the Glove Factory, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “How We Used to Work…”

PDF Document

Glove manufacturing in Grinnell (1988) "The Old Glove Factory" business history

A 1988 paper entitled “The Glove Industry in Grinnell, Iowa 1856-1974” written by Veta Smith. The papers covers how early settler Frederick Morrison began tanning hides and evolved the company into a the Morrison Glove Factory, which later evolved into DeLong Manufacturing.

YouTube Video

Goodnow Hall Historic Tour (2013)

“Goodnow Hall Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on Goodnow Hall, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “The Baby Abandoned at Goodnow Hall.”

YouTube Video

Grinnell Historical Museum History (2013)

“Grinnell Historical Museum Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on the Grinnell Historical Museum, see Dan Kaiser’s blog posts “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?,” “The Wendell Phillips Pew in the Old Stone Church,” and “A Very Cold Case…of Murder!”

YouTube Video

Grinnell House History (2013)

“Grinnell House Historic Video Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

YouTube Video

History of St. Francis Manor and Seeland Park (2016)

“St Francis Manor History,” video from St. Francis Manor on history of healthcare in Grinnell, 6 minutes

For more on St. Francis, see Dan Kaiser’s blog posts that reference the topic.

Images

Poweshiek County Plat Map (1914)

Atlas and Plat Book of Poweshiek County, Iowa, with outline county map, plats of all the townships with owners’ names, plats of all towns in the county, state auto map, United States parcel post map, and others, available from Library of Congress website, 48 images

PDF Document

Preston Opera House (1925)

Article in the Grinnell Herald Register on the Preston opera house, April, 1925, 1 page

YouTube Video

Railroad Depot History (2013)

“depot,” video from the Chamber of Commerce on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad Grinnell Passenger Station, 1 minute

YouTube Video

Ricker House History (2013)

“Ricker House Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce on the Benjamin K. Ricker House of Grinnell College, 1 minute

For more on Ricker House, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Grinnell’s Trees…What Tales They Could Tell!”

Images

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (1883, 1888, 1893, 1898, 1906, 1911, 1922, 1932)

Sanborn fire insurance maps from 1883, 1888, 1893, 1898, 1906, 1911, 1922, 1932, of Grinnell, available from Library of Congress website, 102 images

YouTube Video

Spaulding House History (2013)

“Spaulding House Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

For more on Spaulding House, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “How We Used to Work…”

YouTube Video

Strand Theater Historic Tour (2013)

“Strand Theater Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 1 minute

YouTube Video

American Renaissance: Strand Theatre (2004)

Covers the history of the Strand Theatre and the renovation of the building in the early 2000s. Features interviews with those involved in the renovation project and photos of the process, including uncovering of many of the architectural features that had long been hidden. Produced by Cynthia Sherman.

YouTube Video

Sullivan Jewel Box Bank History (2013)

“Jewel Box Bank/Merchants National Bank Historic Tour – Grinnell, Iowa,” video from the Chamber of Commerce, 2 minutes

PDF Document

Theatres in Grinnell (1989)

Includes overview of Colonial Theatre, Preston’s Opera House, the Strand, the Bijou, and the article “A ‘Strand’ in Grinnell’s Fabric” written by John R. Kleinschmidt from Grinnell Historic Preservation Commission on the history of the Strand, contains images and scans of news articles, 22 pages

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Cyclone

Images

Cyclone (1882)

Images after the June 17, 1882, tornado in Grinnell, from the Digital Public Library of America, images by Charles Bierstadt, James Everett, and D. H. Cross, 40 images

For more on the 1882 cyclone, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?”

PDF Document

Cyclone Article (1882)

“The Grinnell Cyclone of June 17, 1882” by S. H. Herrick, from the State Historical Society of Iowa’s The Annals of Iowa, includes direct quotes from eye-witnesses, selections from The Grinnell Herald, a map of the cyclones’ directions, and two poems referencing the cyclone (“The Bells of Grinnell” by Edward Barstow and “Nothing Left” by Helen Campbell), 22 pages

For more on the 1882 cyclone, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Did This Jar of Blueberries Survive the 1882 Cyclone?”

YouTube Video

Byron Worley presentation on the 1882 Cyclone

Byron Hueftle-Worley grew up in a Grinnell house that had been damaged by the cyclone of 1882 and has been fascinated by the event ever since. Byron presents his lifetime of learning about the history of the cyclone and its aftermath, including many historic photos of the town and of the cyclone damage. This is from a May 2015 program for the CEC Bucket Course.

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General History

History of the Meskwaki people, including Chief Poweshiek

A 10 minute video entitled “The Last Tribe of Iowa: Leadership of the Meskwaki People in a Struggle for Survival.” The video tells the history of the tribe and how they came to have a sovereign settlement in Tama County, Iowa.

Poweshiek: His power, politics and people

From the Iowa History Journal, this article by Thomas Burnell Colbert tells the story of Poweshiek and his period of leading the Meskwaki during the complicated times of the 1830s -40s.

Underground Railroad resource page

Iowa and the Underground Railroad is a document from the State Historical Society of Iowa. The 25 page document provides general information about Underground Railroad activity in the state. This document also provides specific details of the 1859 journey of John Brown through Iowa, including his stay in Grinnell and meeting with J.B. Grinnell.

Archive.org

Early History of Grinnell, Iowa (1854-1874)

Compiled from the files of the Grinnell Herald from January, February, and March of 1874, published in 1916, chapter topics include: the first visit by J. B. Grinnell, the first cabin at Sugar Creek, the first houses, land for a university, first election, the underground railroad, the first school, spotted fever, churches, Iowa College, and more (table of contents located at end of document), 146 pages

Digital Grinnell

Men and events of forty years by J. B. Grinnell. The autobiography of Josiah Bushnell Grinnell for the years from 1850-1890.

Compiled from the files of the Grinnell Herald from January, February, and March of 1874, published in 1916, chapter topics include: the first visit by J. B. Grinnell, the first cabin at Sugar Creek, the first houses, land for a university, first election, the underground railroad, the first school, spotted fever, churches, Iowa College, and more (table of contents located at end of document), 146 pages

Men Were Too Fiery for Much Talk: The Grinnell Anti-Abolitionist Riot of 1860

An article by Thomas A. Lucas about the 1860 riot that arose when four Black men tried to attend the Grinnell public school.  From The Palimpsest, Spring 1987.

Visions of Usefulness: From J.B. Grinnell to Harry Hopkins: A History of Grinnell, Iowa, 1854-1914

Compilation of Grinnell history by William Deminoff, a Grinnell College administration in the 1970s-80s. The 139 page manuscript represents the work he was able to complete before his early death.

History of Poweshiek County, Volume I (1911)

History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress, and Achievement, Volume I by Prof. L. F. Parker, chapter topics include: the name “Iowa,” pioneering, farming, transportation, organization, officials, schools, Iowa College, the pioneer physician, bench and bar, the press, persons of distinction, blizzards and cyclones, epidemics, the civil war, townships and towns, Grinnell, and more, from The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 497 pages

Archive.org

History of Poweshiek County, Volume II (1911)

History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress, and Achievement, Volume II by Prof. L. F. Parker, biographies of many prominent persons in Grinnell’s history, index of names on page 783, from The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 795 pages

Archive.org

Old Settler's Association of Grinnell 1896-1901 (1901)

Proceedings of the Old Settlers’ Association of Grinnell, Iowa, Annual Meetings, 1896-1901, 152 pages. This group included people who were the first settlers in Grinnell. These proceedings record their recollections of people and events from the earliest days of this community.

Archive.org

Semi-Centennial of the Founding of Grinnell, 1854-1904 (1904)

Essays and remarks delivered on the semi-centennial, includes speeches by Rev. E. M. Vittum, Henry M. Hamilton, D. O. Mears, Dr. Thomas Holyoke, Prof L. F. Parker, D. W. Norris, J. P. Lyman, John F. Lacey, and more, 141 pages

1918 Spanish Flu and Typhoid Fever in Grinnell

An overview of the 1918 epidemic’s impact on Grinnell, Iowa. This video was created by Grinnell College students for Prof. Sarah Purcell’s HIS:100 Digital History class in the Fall of 2022. Using photographs and newspaper clippings, it tells how the two diseases impacted the community and were an impetus to improvements in local healthcare options.

YouTube Video

Grinnell at 150: The Pioneering Spirit (2006)

“Grinnell at 150: The Pioneering Spirit,” on the history of Grinnell, work on this video began during Grinnell’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 2004, produced by the Grinnell Historic Preservation Commission and the Grinnell Tourism Group, 42 minutes

Archive.org

Chester Township, Historical Sketch (1881)

“A Historical Sketch of Chester Township, Poweshiek County, Iowa, Read at the Quarter-Centennial, July 4, 1881,” by G. H. White, with introductory letter by J. B. Grinnell, 28 pages

Archive.org

Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson, Poweshiek, and Iowa Counties (1893)

Portrait and Biographical record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties, Iowa, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, also Biographies of the Presidents of the United States, Chapman bros., Chicago, 742 pages

PDF Document

Malcom Centennial Book 1872-1972 (1972)

Malcom Centennial: “Memories Today of Yesterday,” 1872-1972, topics include: histories and mayor list, articles of incorporation, memoirs, churches (Presbyterian, Trinity Lutheran, and Malcom Methodist), schools, alumni, facilities, recollections, businesses, the civil war, organizations, clubs, biographies, and family histories, 197 pages

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Just for Fun

PDF Document

Cornelia Clarke cat photos (1911)

Photos by Cornelia Clarke of her cats Peter and Polly were published in Country Life in America Magazine in 1911. The magazine was digitized as a part of the Google Books project. Click to see the photos page 1 and page 2. Or click here to see the full magazine in Google Books. These photos inspired the book Peter and Polly.

PDF Document

Cornelia Clark inspired book: Peter and Polly (1912)

Children’s book by Elizabeth Hays Wilkinson with some of the earliest photographs taken by Grinnellian Cornelia Clarke, taken of her cats Peter and Polly. The series of photographs was originally published in a magazine. This story was written to match the photos which were colorized for the book publication. This item is also available in Digital Grinnell, from Doubleday, New York, 116 pages

<iframe frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” style=”border:0px” src=”https://books.google.com/books?id=YzQiAQAAMAAJ&newbks=0&dq=%22peter%20and%20polly%22%20by%20eugene%20hall%20country%20life%20america&pg=PA213&output=embed” width=500 height=500></iframe>

YouTube Video

Farming in Poweshiek County (1970s)

“Een Farm in de Corn-Meat Belt,” a 1970s Belgian documentary on farming in Poweshiek County, commentary in English, 20 minutes

YouTube Video

Grinnell Centennial (1954)

A collection of silent home films showing celebration activities, originally a 16mm silent film by E. R. Small and the Grinnell Herald-Register, clips include views of the reproduction “long home” built in front of the library, skits and presentations, and a parade, 55 minutes

YouTube Video

Grinnell in 1978 (1978)

“’55 MPH’ Public Service Announcement (1978),” a public service announcement advocating for the 55 MPH campaign, 1 minute

YouTube Video

Grinnell in 2006 (2006)

“Grinnell, Iowa promotional video 2006,” footage includes businesses, residential, and aerial views of the people and places of Grinnell, shared with permission form the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce, produced by the Grinnell Visitors Bureau, 4 minutes

PDF Document

Miracle Recreation's Rocket Slides

An article in Iowa Heritage Illustrated tells the story of the rocket slide in Des Moines, and the larger story of the Miracle “Astro City”  Playground Equipment products that were in many parks in the 1960s and 70s.

PDF Document

The Newburg Story (1958)

“Case of the Vanishing Village” by Eleanor Ragsdale and Curt Harnack, with photos by Joan Liffring, on the city of Newburg, topics include the history of the town and its decline as a center of community, includes 10 images, from Iowan Magazine of January 1958, 7 pages

PDF Document

1966 Grinnell Business Snapshots: GHS Yearbook Advertisement Section

“Case of the Vanishing Village” by Eleanor Ragsdale and Curt Harnack, with photos by Joan Liffring, on the city of Newburg, topics include the history of the town and its decline as a center of community, includes 10 images, from Iowan Magazine of January 1958, 7 pages

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Schools & Library

PDF Document

School Buildings of Grinnell History

“History of the Grinnell-Newburg School Facilities” from the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District, building history through 2018, document found in the district office with no date or author, 2 pages

Grinnell Public School 1855-1880

The Grinnell Public Schools 1855-1880 by David Harmon. This paper covers the earliest days of Grinnell schools, written for a Community History class by Grinnell College student David Harmon in 1979. Mr. Harmon also covers the later school history in The Grinnell Public Schools 1880-1980 which is also available on this page.

Grinnell Public School 1880-1980

The Grinnell Public Schools 1880-1980 by David Harmon. This paper is the product of a Independent Project by Grinnell College student David Harmon in 1980. Mr. Harmon also covers the earlier school history in The Grinnell Public Schools 1855-1880 which is also available on this page.

YouTube Video

Library Fundraising Video (2006)

“2006 Grinnell Public Library Campaign,” shows scenes in Stewart Library in 2006, describes the overcrowded conditions and the need to build a new library in Grinnell, part of the Next Chapter fundraising campaign to build the new Drake Community Library (opened in 2009), 7 minutes

YouTube Video

Library Storytime at Stewart Library (1990s)

“Storytime at Stewart Library early 1990s,” features Debbie Pohlson reading to a group of children as Peter Pan and Ellie Arsenault reading to her two young children, 39 minutes

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People

YouTube Video

African Americans of Early Grinnell. State Historical Society of Iowa presentation by Dan Kaiser (2020)

Dan Kaiser presents on his research related to African Americans in early Grinnell. The stories he uncovered, all of which were originally published as a part of his Grinnell Stories blog, were compiled into a book in 2020 entitled “Grinnell Stories: African Americans of Early Grinnell,” 43 minutes

PDF Document

Billy Robinson: Birdman of the Prairie (2014)

Biography of aviator Billy Robinson detailing his childhood in South Dakota and life in Grinnell, article in Iowa Heritage Illustrated, includes 2 images, 5 pages

PDF Document

Billy Robinson Story (1954)

Article in Grinnell: A Century of Progress, specifically details the 1916 plane crash of aviator Billy Robinson that led to his death, 4 pages

YouTube Video

Birdman of the Prairie: The Life and Death of an Iowan Aviator (Billy Robinson) (2013)

Billy Robinson documentary film created by Natalie Vander Ploeg for the National History Day Documentary Contest of 2013, includes an overview of his accomplishments and his death attempting to se a new altitude record, 10 minutes

PDF Document

Civil War Grave Registry

From the Poweshiek Country Soldiers Relief Commission, individuals’ armed forces graves registration records filed by the Soldiers Relief Commission, 581 pages (large file, allow time to load)

Images

Cornelia Clarke

Cornelia Clarke was born in 1884 and raised in Grinnell by her single father after her mother’s death. She taught herself photography at a young age and became a widely published photographer during the era when there were few options for women outside the home.  1100+ glass plate negatives of her work were discovered in the State Historical Society by members of the Grinnell Historical Museum, with a selection of them later brought to Grinnell for digitization. In 2021, Clarke was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.

You can view a sampling of her photos on the State Historical Society Flickr page here.

For more on Cornelia Clarke, see Dan Kaiser’s blog post “Grinnell’s Beatrix Potter” and the Scarlet and Black article “Historical Society dubs 2019 the ‘Year of Cornelia Clarke,’ Grinnell resident, alumna and forgotten artist.”  Dan Kaiser also compiled a list of all of Cornelia Clarke’s published photos that can be seen here.

The Renfrow Story

Our webpage of compiled research on Edith Renfrow Smith. Includes information on her family story in Poweshiek County, going back to 1859. It also includes links to primary source materials in our archives that are available online.

Edith Renfrow Smith: Through the Eyes of a Pioneer

A website celebrating the remarkable life of Edith Renfrow Smith. “Through the Eyes of a Pioneer: Living History with Edith Renfrow Smith ’37, Grinnell College’s First Black Alumna” was the result of research and interviews with Mrs. Smith during the summer of 2021 when she was 107 years old.

Woman sitting in purple shirt
YouTube Video

Edith Renfrow Smith Video Interview (2015)

Interview at Drake Community Library with Smith, the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College in 1937, also available on the Other Oral Histories page, 45 minutes

For more on the Edith Renfrow Smith and the Renfrow family, see Daniel Kaiser’s book Grinnell Stories: African Americans of Early Grinnell

YouTube Video

Grinnells of America

Produced by The Grinnell Family Association in 2005, this video discusses the descendants of Matthew and Rose Grinnell (including alternate spellings). Noteworthy descendants discussed include Josiah B. and George Bird Grinnell.  Provided with permission from the family.

PDF Document

Harriet Grinnell Dunham Letter on Early Grinnell (1954)

“A Letter about the ‘Old Days,'” from Harriet Grinnell Dunham to her great granddaughter Abbie Dillon Bleamaster, based upon Dunham’s recollections and the stories from her family, 36 pages

PDF Document

Joanna Harris Haines: Recollections of Seventy Years in Iowa. (1945)

“A Letter about the ‘Old Days,'” from Harriet Grinnell Dunham to her great granddaughter Abbie Dillon Bleamaster, based upon Dunham’s recollections and the stories from her family, 36 pages

PDF Document

J.B. Grinnell - Town Founder

A brief biography of town found J.B. Grinnell which appeared in the centennial publication “Grinnell – A century of progress”

Archive.org

J.B. Grinnell - Men and Events of Forty Years (1891)

Men and Events of Forty Years: Autobiographical Reminiscences of an Active Career from 1850 to 1890 by Josiah Bushnell (JB) Grinnell, written in his last days with a preface by Professor Henry W. Parker, chapter topics include: birthplace, ancestry, as a student, Auburn Theological Seminary, Washington society, state senator, the Civil War, Congress, the Thirteenth Amendment, reconstruction, Freedman’s Bureau, people Grinnell had met, Iowa and Iowans, Native Americans, prohibition, railroads, agricultural affairs, Grinnell University and Iowa College, the cyclone of 1882, the Cherokee Neutral Land Purchase, the Grinnell Quarter Centennial Celebration, and more, 460 pages

Transcribing a letter from J.B. Grinnell

In the fall of 2021 two local students took on a project to transcribe a letter written by J.B. Grinnell in 1864. This page tells the story of their project and what they learned about the letter context and recipients.

PDF Document

Rose Stoops Journal, Story of her Life 1895-1987 (1989)

Edie Rose Stoops: Her Story, 1895-1987, an autobiography by Stoops, topics include: her childhood, her children, church, her family, her journeys, and more, includes biographies of her parents as well (Walter Ellsworth Edie and Mary Alice Flesher Edie), also available on Digital Grinnell, 45 pages

YouTube Video

J.B. Grinnell and Journeys to Freedom (2021)

“J. B. Grinnell and Journeys of Freedom,” was a combination program featuring insights into Grinnell’s founder, J. B. Grinnell, as well as a one-act play about slavery and the Civil War. Jon Andelson, Professor of Anthropology at Grinnell College, opens the program with a talk entitled “Almost Too Good for Us: What Drove J. B. Grinnell?” For the second part of the program Iowa authors Patricia and Kevin Kimle present a one-act play featuring characters from their new novel, “The Only Free Road: An Underground Railroad Saga Unveiled”.  This program took place on Aug 4, 2021.

YouTube Video

Testaments: Voices from the Past (1992)

“Testaments: Voices from the Past – The Depression and World War II,” a part of the Friends of Stewart Library (now Drake Community Library) oral history project “Voices from the Past,” interviewees include Anna Ramsey, Sid Potts, Martin Pearce, Augusta Pederson, Dick Sears and Grant O. Gale, 28 minutes

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